San Joaquin County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

“If this is the new normal, this is absolute economic devastation,” says one local economist.

Those in California who’d like a latte with a side of weed have gotten their wish now that a new law goes into effect that permits licensed cannabis dispensaries to add sit-in cafes to their sites.  

The first of three permitted cannabis dispensaries is set to open in Manteca within weeks. Read on to learn more.

Read on to learn more about the growing impact of H5N1 bird flu on San Joaquin County poultry farmers and the local agriculture sector.

New operating rules for massive Delta systems will increase water deliveries to Southern California cities and some growers. Salmon numbers could drop, especially in dry years.

Keith Poulsen's jaw dropped when farmers showed him images on their cellphones at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin in October. A livestock veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin, Poulsen had seen sick cows before, with their noses dripping and udders slack.

Gov. Newsom launched an ambitious program that uses Medi-Cal to help Californians access housing, healthy food and more. Now, its fate is in the hands of President-Elect Trump.

Are food recalls on the rise? Yes. Read on to learn more.

Learn more about the expanding recall of raw milk products following detection of bird flu in tested samples.

Excessive groundwater pumping is behind the sinking of the ground level in the San Joaquin Valley. Read on to learn more about the Stanford University research behind this startling finding.

Volunteers with the Emergency Food Bank of Stockton/San Joaquin annual Thanksgiving Food Giveaway passed out Thanksgiving meals to 2,801 families on November 26. Read on to learn more.

Bird flu has been detected in chickens at a San Joaquin County farm. Read on to learn more about where and about this highly pathogenic virus.

Read on for details about the Escalon Holiday Parade on December and the vendor booths, food, activities and music around Main Street Park.

Voters in California’s farm belt, stretching more than 400 miles from Kern County on the south to Tehama County on the north, delivered solid majorities for Donald Trump in this month’s presidential election.

Learn about the 52nd annual Manteca Chamber of Commerce hosted Christmas Parade scheduled for December 7.

Find more about a possible community garden to be developed on an unused parcel in downtown Manteca.

THE SALINAS VALLEY is the setting for fecund soil, labor rights movements and John Steinbeck novels.Squeezed into one 90-mile-long wedge between the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountains, the valley’s residents constitute less than 1% of Californians but have shaped the identity of the whole state.

There are 35 new trees along Bessie Avenue in Tracy thanks to the volunteers who helped plant them in celebration of Arbor Day.

The Ripon Garden Club is working with the city to donate a rose garden near Stouffer Park.

An outdoor food truck and container area is being considered for Library Park in downtown Manteca.

The public is invited to the Ripon Chamber of Commerce sponsored 39th Annual Main Street Day on October 19.

Many California farmworkers have long lacked safe and affordable places to sleep — an issue thrown into sharp relief after last year’s mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, which left seven agricultural workers dead.

The recently released San Joaquin County Crop Report showed a decline in the top four local agricultural products.

The City of Manteca community benefit agreements with three recently approved marijuana dispensaries aim to generate a minimum of $1 million for city coffers.

Garden Joy community garden is working with the Manteca Unified School District to help meet its goal of locally sourcing 20 percent of school meal produce by the next school year.

A look at the training program for beginner farmers offered by the Center for Land-Based Learning in Woodland.

A look at the 2023 San Joaquin County agriculture report: $3.22 billion in production by 3,340 mostly small family-owned farms.

The chemical, used for decades, can harm babies’ developing brains. Farmworkers and people living near fields are most at risk. The EPA issued a rare emergency order.

A Free Family Fun Night is scheduled for Friday, August 9 at Mossdale Landing Community Park, 700 Towne Centre Drive in Lathrop.

A judge has halted a union effort at the Wonderful Company, throwing into question a new state law designed to make it easier for agricultural workers to organize.

A Kings County judge today issued a temporary restraining order against the state that pauses its unprecedented move to crack down on groundwater depletion in California’s agricultural heartland.

San Joaquin County community group Ray of Hope is urgently seeking donations of food and school supplies to help fill the summer gap in meals for school age youth and to prepare for the coming school year.